SKIN DEEP

Jonesboro-Based Natural State Leather Turns Hides Into Heirlooms.

By Stacey Bowers  Photography By Natural State Leather

For artisan Caleb Spann, the most creative aspect of working with leather is flexing its functionality. In 2019, while experimenting with artistic outlets outside his day job in banking, he was drawn to the practicality of leather artistry. “One thing that’s always been something I’ve enjoyed about leather working that’s not necessarily the case for other art forms in a sense is that leather is something you can use on a daily basis that can be very beautiful and intricate, but it’s also utilitarian, and the process of leather working is really hands on,” he said of his initial attraction to working with the medium.

“I started out just on my kitchen counter making wallets and trays, and it was probably after four or five really bad ones that I wanted to keep getting better,” he jokingly said. “I think how poorly I started was a good motivator. That Christmas of 2019, I had some co-workers who had seen pictures of some wallets I had made, and I had four or five people place an order with me, so I kind of had to go from tinkering around with stuff to putting a logo on things, filling orders and customizing things to meet what people wanted.”

It was this baptism by fire that took Spann from hobbyist to gainful craftsman and led to the creation of Natural State Leather as a brand. True to his original designs, Spann’s wallets are still bestsellers, but he’s expanded his skills and his inventory to include unique hand bags, tote bags, portfolios, journals, holsters, trays, belts and knife sheaths.

Spann’s business is mainly online through his website, but he often sells his creations at craft shows and artisan fairs in Jonesboro, which he calls home. Interacting with clients in person gives him a window into why people find his work so special. “Wallets and bags are what people tend to gravitate toward, because they are very unique,” he said. “We hand-make and hand-sew everything. You can feel the difference in quality from what you’d find at a [chain] store.”

Knife sheaths are one of Spann’s favorite requests — and one of the more intricate things he makes. “Every knife sheath is a custom order for that knife’s curvature and thickness … I have to do something different every time to fit what a person really wants,” he explained, including that the client has to be willing to go without their knife for about a week while Spann keeps it to measure and check his work.

A project like that always starts with the same thing — a quality hide, which is the skin of half of a cow, according to Spann. “You’ve got the belly, the shoulders that sometimes can be tough or have scarring or bug bites … When we first get hides in, we process them and cut away parts we don’t think are useful and also cut off excess and use those for scraps,” he said, detailing the process. “Typically, leather has a grain to it, and if you go against the grain it’s harder to bend, and if you go with it it’s easy to bend. With a belt, I try to find that grain and work with the bend.” Turning a raw hide into a cleanly cut, smooth and comfortable belt — or any type of accessory — takes a lot of elbow grease, and a little oil. “When you cut leather, the fibers from the skin stick up and are really rough,” he explained. “When you oil it and slick it down with a burnisher, it creates a really smooth round edge that’s not going to rub or catch on things.”

The words “heritage leather goods” appear prominently on the Natural State Leather website. Besides comfort, for Spann another hallmark of a great quality leather is its ability to be passed down from one person to another. He intends for Natural State Leather goods to be heirloom pieces cherished for generations — all the more significant considering they’re made from scratch by one small family. Spann’s wife, Anna Grace, works alongside him, sewing pieces, organizing in-person sales events, designing women’s bags and more. “I always ask her for her advice,” Spann insisted. He also jokingly said his 2-year-old daughter “likes to be involved where she can.” In this way, Natural State Leather’s motto “heritage leather goods” finds more than one meaning.